Loveland stopped Olson on a first-round head kick and follow-up
punches, as he kept his hold on the Tachi Palace Fights
bantamweight crown in the TPF 14 “Validation” headliner on Friday
at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif. Olson’s
night was done in a little more than half a minute -- 38 seconds to
be exact.

Based in Portland, Ore., Loveland wobbled the challenger with a
crackling left hook and never relented. Soon after, he belted Olson
with a kick to the face, followed him to the mat and finished it
with a series of strikes, forcing referee Jason McCoy
to intervene.

The 29-year-old Sports Lab export has rattled off nine wins in 11
appearances, losing only to Joseph
Benavidez and Yves Jabouin
inside the UFC in that span.

J.
Sherwood

Karakhanyan sailed against Miller.

In the co-main event, Georgi
Karakhanyan cruised to a unanimous decision over American Top
Team’s Micah
Miller, as he retained the Tachi Palace Fights featherweight
championship. All three cageside judges scored it for Karakhanyan:
50-45, 50-45 and 48-47. The 27-year-old Millennia MMA
representative has won five fights in a row since being cast aside
by Bellator Fighting Championships.

The 25-minute bout proved rather uneventful in terms of action, but
Karakhanyan closed the stronger of the two. He threatened Miller
with a guillotine choke in the third round, scrambled into dominant
positions in the fourth and worked effectively inside his
opponent’s guard in the fifth, racking up points with short strikes
against the grounded WEC veteran.

Miller did his best work in round two, as he utilized the clinch
and attacked Karakhanyan with standing elbows and knees in close
quarters. However, he could not carry over his momentum and faded
down the stretch. The setback snapped Miller’s streak of three
straight wins.

Fili nearly finished it inside round one. He blasted Wallace with a
two-punch combination and backed it up with a double-leg takedown.
From there, Fili moved towards his opponent’s back, unleashing a
hellacious stream of punishment many believed warranted a
stoppage.

Referee Marcos Rosales, who drew criticism for his officiating for
much of the night, thought otherwise and allowed it to
continue.

Wallace never recoverd, and Fili capitalized in the second round.
After another takedown, Fili snatched a limb and went belly-down
with the armbar. Rosales stepped in despite the absence of a tapout
and called a stop to the bout.

J.
Sherwood

Arciniega has won five straight.

Elsewhere, a takedown-heavy approach carried
Art
Arciniega to his fifth consecutive victory, as he eked out a
contentious split decision over Brad
McDonald at 145 pounds. All three cageside judges scored it
29-28, two of them in Arciniega’s favor.

The 30-year-old Arciniega struck for takedowns in all three rounds,
countered effectively at times and withstood McDonald’s advances on
the feet. He has not tasted defeat since he dropped a unanimous
decision to Chad Mendes
in April 2009.

Finally, World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Poppies
Martinez submitted Jason Drake
with a first-round heel hook in their lightweight showcase. Winless
in his last four appearances, Drake asked out of the match 1:48
seconds into round one.

Martinez used his inexperienced opponent’s aggression against him,
as he caught an ill-advised kick and dragged Drake to the ground.
After a brief struggle and some mild ground-and-pound, Martinez
absorbed an upkick, dove back into Drake’s guard, postured up and
snatched an exposed leg. Moments later, Drake conceded defeat.
Martinez has won six of his past nine bouts.